Army West Point Athletics

Hockey Stumbles Against Sacred Heart at Home

February 28, 2026 | Hockey

WEST POINT, N.Y.– Army West Point hockey (12-15-6, 7-14-4 Atlantic Hockey America) welcomed the Sacred Heart Pioneers (18-12-3, 14-8-3 Atlantic Hockey America) to Tate Rink on Friday night for the first game of its final regular season series.

After Army scored first at the end of the first period, Sacred Heart surged to a 3-1 lead that the Black Knights could not eliminate entirely as Army fell 3-2 to the Pioneers in game one of the series

Atlantic Hockey America Goaltender of the Week

JJ Cataldoreturned to the ice for the Black Knights where he logged 29 saves against Sacred Heart's 32 shots on goal.

At the other end of the ice, the Pioneers placed Ajeet Gundarah between the pipes where he tallied 30 saves against Army's 32 shots on goal.

The Black Knights struck first on Friday night, scoring in the final minute of the period for the 18

thtime this season to claim a 1-0 lead with 36 seconds left on the clock in the first frame.

Army's goal capped off a strong first period showing for the Black Knights as Army held off 12 shots on goal from the Pioneers while logging nine of its own to set the tone for a pitched battle.

Sacred Heart stepped up their pace in the second period, tallying 15 shots on goal to Army's seven and taking a 2-1 lead with a pair of goals scored in the second frame.

The first came shorthanded just under four and a half minutes into the period to tie the game before the visitors banked their second goal of the game with 41 seconds left on the clock during a power play opportunity for the Pios.

Army fought to equalize the score, flipping the offensive script to the tune of 16 shots on goal to Sacred Heart's five in the third period, but the Pioneers scored an empty-net goal with two minutes left on the clock to take a 3-1 lead.

The Black Knights bore down on the Pioneers as the clock ticked down and

Jude Browerdelivered on a shot from the point to bring Army within one goal of the visitors with 1:31 left on the clock.

Army continued to hammer the Sacred Heart goal with shots as the final seconds ticked down, but a trio of saves for Gundarah and two blocked shots from the Pioneers held the score at 3-2 in the Pios' favor through the final whistle.

UP NEXT

Army and Sacred Heart return to Tate Rink on Saturday, February 28

thfor game two. Army will celebrate Senior Knight for its Class of 2026 at the 4 p.m. ET matchup.

Team Stats

SHU

AWP

Shots

32

32

PPG

1

1

SHG

1

0

Penalties

5

6

Penalty Mins

21

12

Faceoffs Won

18

34

Game Leaders

Players Mentioned

vs. Sacred Heart

Saturday, November 10

Test

Wednesday, November 07